Rafael Furcal is four weeks into what was supposed to be a 4-6 week recovery from a broken left thumb, but manager Don Mattingly told Ken Gurnick of MLB.com that he “won’t be sent out on a minor-league rehab assignment until he’s able to swing right-handed without discomfort.”

According to Mattingly that means the earliest Furcal could see game action in the minors is Thursday or Friday, adding that “he’s just not ready.”

Furcal has been taking batting practice as a left-handed hitter for several days and fielded some ground balls yesterday, so the Dodgers are hopeful that any rehab assignment will be a brief one whenever he’s cleared to swing right-handed.

Jake Cave, who homered in his major league debut on Saturday, has been optioned to Triple-A Rochester in a corresponding 25-man roster move. He ultimately went 1-for-9 in his short stay at the MLB level.

Sano had six hits — including two home runs — in five minor league rehab games.

He was batting .213/.289/.450 with five homers and 14 RBI through 20 games this season for the Twins, who are currently 6 1/2 games back of the Indians in the American League Central standings with a disappointing 21-24 record.